A device such as a computer printer is connected to a host computer by a cable. The cable is attached at one end to a port on the printer and at the other end to a port on the computer. Both the printer and the host computer have input-output ("I/O") drivers to receive and transmit signals through the cable.
When a single printer serves a single computer in a stand-alone system, the signals received and transmitted between them are often asynchronous, transmitted serially in time and transmitted only on one channel. That type of I/O is commonly known as serial I/O.
Alternatively, a single printer may be part of a local area network ("LAN") and service several computers. A LAN is simply a group of interconnected devices or nodes. Devices operating in a LAN typically transmit and receive data between themselves by using LAN I/Os. LAN I/Os operate with synchronous communication and data transmission that is different and much faster than the transmission used by serial I/O systems.
To be able to use a device such as a printer on both a serial I/O system and a LAN I/O system, the device must be able to distinguish between the systems because of the different data transmission characteristics. This has been accomplished in previously existing devices by using a mode switch to toggle between serial and LAN modes. Thus, to use a printer on a LAN, the user would have to configure the system by manually setting a switch. This usually involves remembering that the system needs to be configured, referring to a manual, finding the switch on the device, determining whether it needs to be changed and if so, changing it. Often the product has to be dismantled to some extent to access the switch. If the user changes back to a serial I/O system, the switch would need to be changed back.
The invented "Circuit and Method for Automatic Input-Output Configuration Through Local Area Network Detection" automatically recognizes whether the device is part of a serial I/O system or a LAN I/O system and configures the device accordingly. The user does not have to set any switches or remember to configure the system. Additionally, the cost of the components in the invented circuit is less than the cost of a suitable switch to perform the same function. The invented circuit will allow a device to detect whether it is plugged onto a serial I/O system or a LAN I/O system.